Wood Land at Schoss Hollenegg
For its ninth edition, Schloss Hollenegg for Design unveiled WOOD LAND exhibition focusing on the forest and its primary resource: Wood.
Schloss Hollenegg for Design is a cultural institution founded by Alice Stori Liechtenstein in 2015. The venue is a family owned castle whose first mention dates back to 1163. The long history of the Schloss Hollenegg is visible in its architecture, as successive owners added to the original medieval construction over the centuries. The Renaissance courtyard is modelled on the Landhaus in Graz and probably designed by the same architect, Domenico dell'Aglio, in the 16th century. In the second courtyard the Baroque church is still used to this day by the parish. Schloss Hollenegg is since 1821 property of the Liechtenstein Family.
Schloss Hollenegg for Design offers a stage to young, talented, emerging designers by creating a space and a place for design research, thinking and critique. With its program, the initiative aims to investigate with continuity, culturally relevant topics and offer a large public a cultural program in a non-urban area. The high level of the program has made the initiative in only three years a design destination on the national and international panorama.
Three main pillars
- A Residency Programme open to all designers below 35, with at least three years working experience as designers and a strong conceptual portfolio.
The designers work during their residency within the context of a given theme and a specific room; they are free to explore mediums and styles but should let themselves be inspired by the history and the objects of Schloss Hollenegg. The combination of tradition with innovation is an important point of the program; it is also a strong part of the Austrian tradition which should be supported within design practice. The projects, fruit of the residencies, are presented to press and public in the following May exhibition. They are given special relevance and shown in the rooms for which they were conceived.
- A Design Exhibition which takes place in May at Schloss Hollenegg.
It is a curated thematic show, in which new, many of which especially commissioned, design projects from at least 15 young designers, are presented to the public. Throughout the year, Schloss Hollenegg for Design scouts promising designers, and invites them to submit an object which is conceptual and research oriented to investigate or illustrate the theme of the exhibition. For the exhibition, the State rooms of the castle, are open to the public who can admire the modern contemporary objects in a rich historical setting. The yearly exhibition is the only occasion in which people have the possibility of visiting Schloss Hollenegg. A catalogue is produced each year to document the residencies and the exhibition.
- Design Talks organised together with the Creative Industries Styria. Presenting successful examples of cooperations between designers and companies, the designers are invited to talk side by side with their clients, and recount how the collaboration started, developed and brought positive results.
WOOD LAND
Until May 31st, 2024 and with a focus on the forest and its primary resource – wood, the ninth annual design exhibition showcases different techniques for working wood and provide knowledge on different species of trees and wood essences. Each object presented is also an excuse to discuss themes such as global warming, forest management and sustainable wood production.
Curated by Founder Alice Stori Liechtenstein, the exhibition features work by 21 up and coming designers, in conversation with three centuries of historic wood work embedded in the fabric of the castle.
The exhibition presents the wide variety of products that can be made from the material: from furniture and lighting, to floors and panelling and the myriad both practical and decorative pieces that one can find in a home – and sometimes only in a castle.
Together with these everyday objects, unique artworks and conceptual installations will explore the incredible versatility of wood, examining its historical and contemporary uses and manufacturing techniques. The exhibition continues Liechtenstein’s ongoing exploration of materials as the fundamental building blocks of design and the critical role they play in sustainability.
Wood is one of the most sustainable and environmentally favourable construction materials available. At the same time it is important to consider adequate forestry practices that preserve the woodland in the face of rising temperatures and allow us to harvest wood sustainably.
The summer’s design residency, organised in partnership with Holzcluster Steiermark and Dutch Invertuals, allowed the designers to explore the woodland around the castle and gather knowledge on forest management, to then produce contextual work investigating the balance between humans and nature. Designers in Residence Luca Gruber, Alison Malouf, Jakob Niemann, Zoe Jo Rae, Dana Savic, Guillaume Slizewicz, Marte Mei van Haaster are presenting work inspired by their residency at Schloss Hollenegg in July 2023 and in several cases produced in cooperations with local carpenters and artisans. Several designers, such as designer in residence Jonas Lutz, or Lisa Ertel and Janis Zell, have worked with wood foraged in the vicinity of Schloss Hollenegg.
Irish designer and maker Joseph Walsh, has created for Schloss Hollenegg a one of a kind furniture piece with the wood of a one-hundred-year-old tree elm tree.
The tree in the park of Schloss Hollenegg had been killed by Elm disease, but its wood was beautiful and perfect for making furniture.
It was felled in the summer of 2022 and Joseph has taken up the challenge to create a furniture piece using its wood.
While some designers such as the Erzgebirge Kollektiv and Michela D’Angelo have reinterpreted traditional craft techniques with a contemporary aesthetic, other designers instead have explored hybrid technologies. Lejeuene Kaes Kuhlmann have created a trousseau which is 3D printed with wood filament and Elisa Strozyk has developed textiles in which fabric and wood are woven seamlessly together.
A last special project has been developed with Yuniti, a young company that offers a modular furnishing system, that can be mounted almost anywhere and is designed to please the user’s individual needs. For Schloss Hollenegg, Yuniti has created an office space inside one of the baroque wardrobes of the castle. The material used is a 100% recycled surface veneer made from high quality wood waste from the yachting industry. Through a special process, different types of wood are reassembled into a unique and sustainable wood veneer.
Exhibiting Designers
Designers in Residence: Jonas Lutz, Luca Gruber, Jonas Lutz, Alison Malouf, Jakob Niemann, Zoe Jo Rae, Dana Savic, Guillaume Slizewicz, Marte Mei van Haaster
Participating designers: Michela D’Angelo, Lisa Ertel & Jannis Zell, Erzgebirge Kollektiv, Kaes Kuhlmann Lejeune, Mimo x Pretziada, Kim Mupangilai, Clemens Schmiedberger, Pernille Snedker-Hansen, Lisa Stolz, Elisa Strozyk, Joseph Walsh, Lukas Wegwerth
WOOD LAND - open to the public Saturdays and Sunday from 11am to 6pm. Guided tours can be booked from Monday to Friday for groups of 5 to 25 people. Individuals may sign up for a guided tour with curator Alice Stori Liechtenstein every Friday at 6 pm.
Picture credits: hero picture: Leonhard Hilzensaue / Wood Land Exhibition pictures: Lipp Zahnschirm
